Opposite Leader Tony Abbott never spoke to the co-ordinator at Infrastructure Australia – or his office – about the controversial East-West tunnel in Melbourne, which a Coalition government has promised to fund to the tune of $1.5 billion, despite claims that he had spoken to the authority about the plan.

On June 30, Mr Abbott announced a future Coalition government would contribute $4 billion towards major road projects in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, saying he had discussions with state governments and Infrastructure Australia.

In Melbourne, the Coalition promised $1.5 billion for the East-West link with Mr Abbott saying: “Infrastructure Australia have given me a categoric [sic] assurance that this project stacks up.”

And, “I explicitly discussed this specific project with Infrastructure Australia before making the announcement”.

But during a Senate budget hearing in Canberra today, the co-ordinator of Infrastructure Australia, Michael Deegan, said he or his office had never spoken to Mr Abbott or his office about the project.

In the most recent submission the Baillieu government asked for $30 million for the project for further development, while Infrastructure Australia’s priority project list states the project has “real potential” and should be given money for development.

However it is not a high priority, especially compared to the Melbourne Metro Rail project which is listed as “ready to proceed”.

On September 4, Mr Abbott said: “We spoke to Infrastructure Australia. We’ve spoken to the Victorian government. This is the number one major project that Victoria needs right now.”

Much as I dislike Tony Abbott, his off-the-cuff promise to fund the East-West tollway typifies of the whole project. The original proposal was never costed properly and failed its own cost-benefit analysis. This should set off alarm bells everywhere from Spring St to Canberra, particularly given the failure of similar projects in Sydney and Brisbane. The East-West link is a financial disaster waiting to happen. It should not be funded with public money.

The extraordinary cost ($10 billion in Eddington’s 2008 report but expect that to double given the poor performance of major projects in Victoria) is unjustifiable. It is financially ruinous but it also comes at the cost of long overdue investment in public transport. $10 billion could build the missing railways to Doncaster, the Airport and Rowville as well as fixing all of Victoria’s level crossings. These are the projects that will alleviate traffic congestion and get Melbourne moving. But none of these urgent priorities will be addressed if the tunnel goes ahead: there will be no money left.